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Wednesday, 29 June 2016

How to Make DIY Box Cushion Pet Beds...Shortcut!

(Part 3 of 4) Yesterday we showed you our DIY full box cushion pet bed, and this is a shortcut (cheat) semi-box cushion bed with a rear velcro closure
gusset panel. It has boxed front corners, but a plushy wrap-around top
and sides. It is great for squishy beds as the natural curve to the top accommodates the extra loft, and easy cheat for clear
frontal patterns, and efficient use of fabric with limited cuts/waste.

The black bed was made by upcycling a
clearance sale spill-proof table cloth (just like our red bed). All totaled, including the insert (Part 4 of our mini-series, coming up tomorrow) and assorted supplies, this cushy water-resistant bed cost
around NZ$35 (US$24). The small tapestry bed was made using home decor fabric and all totaled including the insert cost around NZ$25 (US$17) with extra fabric left for making matching throw pillow covers.

I am not an exceptional seamstress, so if I can do it, you can do
it! All you need are a few basic sewing supplies and some time. You will need filling(s), fabric, velcro, a sewing machine and basic machine sewing supplies, and (optional) fusable interfacing (or regular interfacing + fusable tape) to make handles.

Cut one piece to size (plus seam allowances) that will fully wrap around your cushion, rear excluded) and meet at the sides. In a slightly smaller height (plus seam allowances), cut additional pieces to width for the rear velcro closure flaps.

Sew to finish the exposed edges of your velcro closure flaps
(the open edges through which the filling is inserted). This will be
one width-wise edge of each rear flap.

Sew velcro to the unfinished side of
the top closure flap, near the finished edge. The stitching will be
externally visible, so use a threat that compliments the fabric, not the
velcro. Sewing velcro can sometimes be a bit fiddly, so I personally
prefer using the loop side on this exposed position as it is the easier
sew and will have neater looking stitching on the outside.

Check positioning for alignment. Pin (or tape) velcro to the finished
side of your other rear panel, taking care to ensure that the finished
closed rear panel will be an equal height to the other sides. Sew velcro into place.

Take your large cover panel, reverse to the unfinished side, fold in half at the center (front), and sew the sides together along the seam allowances,
taking care to leave the seam allowances separate and free at the ends for joining the rear panel. Slip over your foam to double-check sizing - just in case.

At the corners (intersection of your center fold and side seams), create a box corner seam by sewing across the intersection. I neglected to take photos of this step and it really benefits from a photo explanation, so I hunted down a nice clear how-to at Sew 4 Home that will help if this is a new technique for you. The same technique is used for any type of boxed corner, and Something Turquoise's tote bag DIY has a brilliant photo explanation of how to do it. So very sorry about that!

Optional: To add sturdy matching handles, see our previous post.

Pin the rear closure panel to the unfinished edges of the care and sew into place. Take extra care when turning your corners to make sure your seam
allowance corners remain outside of the sewn edge to be nice and pointy
when inverted. I recommend positioning the flap so it is opening downwards to avoid collecting extra fur. Don't despair if it's not quite perfect - it's only the back. :)

Optional: If you are working with a ravel-prone fabric, you might like to trim and overlock (or alternative finish) the all the raw edges for ease or working and durability.

Inverse through the velcro opening so that the fabric is right-side out.

Insert cushion filling, velcro closed, and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

You can make a pet bed using ANY cushion material, technique, shape, and style you like - just scale it to your project and make it yours! We'd love to see your projects - feel free to share in the comments.

Tomorrow's insert post (Part 4) shows how you can make a wrap-around box cushion from a single piece of fabric without the rear gusset. You could add overlap and use this technique to make a removable bed cover without a separate gusset; however, I find that approach tricky when working with beds, velcro, flaps, and box corners. I prefer using the rear gusset method, but it's all personal choice.

You can also make an envelope style cushion cover with a bottom closure and box seam the four corners. It is an even easier cheater's sewing project and could work perfectly when you are tucking a bed into a crate or box. If you don't care about your box corners, just skip the seams and it's even easier!Want to make one? Creativity Unmasked has shared a DIY for sewing simple envelope-style pillow cases in coordination with our bed mini-series. Just size it to suit your bed and make one in minutes!

I
used velcro for cost and convenience. If you would rather use a zipper,
you can easily adjust the rear panel flaps to suit the size/type of
your zipper and the rest of the DIY is the same.

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